The Music of Ancient Greece - ON A BANJO!?!

[YiannisThiakos]

giutar tabs or notes avaiable?

[5alrico]

my goodness you play very lovely music! banjo is a west african instrument though.

[JacGout]

use fingerpicks man, not a plectrum on a 5 string, blehh

[brummeister1]

Gm tuning 4 banjo?

[Klezfiddle1]

@brummeister1 The banjo is tuned to lonesome "Mountain Minor" tuning: GDGCD - exactly the same tuning used for such oldtimey Mountain music classics as "Old Cluck Hen" & "Shady Grove"...YEEEEEE HA!

[brummeister1]

@Klezfiddle1 ahhh...Sawmill Tuning :)

[Nupharluteum]

Very good. As I said before, I like your banjo.

[Klezfiddle1]

@Nupharluteum Glad you like some of my more "wacky" stuff...roll over,Bela Fleck! For "proper" Appalachian oldtime classics, such as "Shady Grove", "Wildwood Flower", as well as my arrangements of oldtime fiddle tunes for clawhammer banjo, such as "Soldier's Joy" & "Liberty", pleeeeease check out my new album on iTunes, "The Appalachian Banjo"...many thanks for watching :o)

[tuxedomoon]

Are these gut strings?

[Klezfiddle1]

No, these are just regular plain ball-end steel banjo strings....I jus wish I tortoise shell as a resonator for my banjo, for the cructial "Ancient Greek Lyra Vibe" I was trying to create here! ;o)

[gre3kboy77]

opa siya nice job

[MATSAROK]

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

[marisabellas]

What particular mode is that you're using?

[Klezfiddle1]

The name of this ancient GREEK mode is the Dorian mode (the equivalent intervals as playing the just white notes between E-E on a piano).This is not to be confused with the MEDIEVAL "Dorian" mode, which was between D-D: in medieval times, the music scholars mistakenly misnamed ALL the original ancient Greek modes with the WRONG ancient Greek names!

[wackid89]

So modern Phrygian

[brummeister1]

@Klezfiddle1 so if I were to play a scale using half steps between 1-2 and 5-6 ex key of G on Najo tuned gDGBflatD?? would I be close to this Mode. That would make my Cmaj...in this style a C, Eb, G or the Fmaj F, Ab, C....well, been playin around with my banjo tuned this way anyways, and it sounds good, almost scary at times...hypnotic..thanks for the vid! always looking for new ways to play :)

[xaramano]

impresive

[guylovesme]

-_- whenever I watch your videos I get jealous I can't afford a real insrument.

[leftysergeant]

I have to admit to a bit of a tin ear, but the sound from about 2:00 to about 2:15 was part of what got me to thinking about the krar. Or am I receaching on this one?

[toronstganymede]

... hi klezfiddle1 ! the hidus make a small portable distiller out of glass ... a 10,000 year old design from the planet golonka ... they sold it to the greeks to make ouzo ... i play a homemade bass banjo ... a 23"d bass drum ... 1 thick string ... 1 head ... 1 neck ... it has alot of attack & volume ... i got in a fight with 5 irish-american banjo players in nyc on 2nd ave near houston st ... an irish bar on caileigh night ... i was drowning all of them out & they got ticked off .. come to nyc

[keltyk]

Privilege to hear the various pieces on youtube. Thoughts of a know nothing: doesn't sound alien to an old Krautrocker like me. e.g. Amon Duul 2's first 2 lps have moments like this. My feeling feelings- some of the tunes would be worth recording in a real 'shit kickin'' party style to get an authentic style. Worth trying with a tight rythmn section and play like it's a Scot's ceiledh band. Some of this had to be the pop of it's day and needn't be handdled too reverantly

[wackid89]

good ol' manchester

[Marseglia12345]

I can almost hear Otis Redding's voice.

[XYZandTime]

I've always wanted to hear first hand how ancient Greek music would have sounded. I read once that it often sounds quite alien to those of us who were raised listening to modern Western stuff. It does sound different from the patterns and styles used today. I liked it all the same, and I imagine it takes a skilled musician to play it. How difficult is it to transpose music written for what I am assuming was a lyre to a banjo?

[Klezfiddle1]

Surprisingly, it is really quite straightforward! As I was dong this bizarre "musical" experiment, I suddenly realized just how similar the contemporary banjo is to the ancient Greek "Lyra" - the Lyra, having a soundboard of skin stretched over a tortoise shell, was, quite literally, a "banjo without a fingerboard"!

[vientocita]

gonna take some time to go thru them. You know, you could self publish on your computer, and it wouldn't cost big $. there's plenty of software out there. I'm using Fruity Loops, but it has a bit of a learning curve, and lots of frustration at the moment. Our first little Cd Wind Thru the Reeds has sold well, and as we play gigs, it continues to bring smiles to our patrons!

[Klezfiddle1]

Thanks for the info! What sort of microphone do you use to record your stuff, using the Fruity Loops program? Is it some sort of HiFi PC mic? What format does Fruity Loops record audio in? If I could make a CD album from my spare room, this would be just TOTALLY cool!!:o)

[worldofurin]

I am using a high definiotion sharp mic system. That costs alot of money. So i dont reccomend that, if ur on some budget. It costed me 600 dollar... wWch is how i get the greatest recordings ever, and fruity loops, I am unsure what format it is agai. I' ll see later, im just a little too tired to check.. Anyways, your music inspires me.. You are keeping the dying folk tunes and the ancient ones. Keep what you are doing up. I know that you are really good. PS: get the hardingfiddle.... ^^ haha

[Klezfiddle1]

After splashing out £120 on a Tascam Audio Interface wotsit, 3 days (and several bottles of Prozac!) later, I still couldn't find the bloody "record" button...ARGH!! After this "learning curve", I have decided that I am now going to make my CD with the aid of a very nice, very knowledgable sound engineer in a nice, cozy little studio!;o)

[g4tman]

now about moonshine, your wrong. we were the first to discover that, way before america even was known to barbaric europeans. we make it from white grapes. their is two types. tsipouro, in central Greece, and Raki/Tsikoudia (its the same thing) which is from Crete. then ouzo which is from all over Greece but its different.

[vientocita]

Great technique,I'll be listening to this one again and again. Have you thought about doing a CD??

[Klezfiddle1]

You may have JUST sparked an idea here...although given my finances at present, it would have to be a project for next year!What tracks of all my Youtube "Online Gigs" would you MOST like to hear on a CD???

[worldofurin]

Hello, what contrey are you from? and if you are going to make a CD, try to get it out in Norway ill buy it at once. And if you dont get it in Norway i will buy it online...

You are really a great player. i really hope you get a mussician career

good luck

[Klezfiddle1]

Thanks for the much needed words of encouragement! I have the misfortune of living in the dismal city of Salford, near Manchester,UK...but when I hopefully get this CD album out, I will definitely ensure one finds its way to you!;o)

[worldofurin]

hmm i would love it if you can play the "Fanitullen" without comp, Fanitullen requires that you have a harding fiddle witt two sets of strings (8 strings) then you will be the first that ever realeases Fanitullen on a CD without comp